


capturing the moment

by drunkencatman



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Confessions, F/F, Femslash, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, i just love... the soft wlws, mentioned sam/sebastian, theres not enough content for this ship!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 09:22:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20328820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drunkencatman/pseuds/drunkencatman
Summary: Abigail sends Haley a letter in the mail, to meet her upon the beach at 9PM.or: a nice and simple confession scene between two mutually-oblivious girls.





	1. i: the letter

Haley didn’t really expect her morning to go the way it did.

Autumn days tended to be dreary in Pelican Town. The few months that accompanied the season were followed by onslaughts of heavy rain, and the temperatures were anything but sublime. She found herself staying in bed longer than she would in spring, or summer; she would really get up at the crack of dawn when those two seasons rolled around.

The blonde expected to laze around in bed for a few more hours before she was dragged out by her sister Emily (or the avian now accompanying her all around the house, squawking its hellos) or when she’d get bored enough to drag herself over to Alex’s grandparents house. It’d been practically tradition to stay in bed until her head would begin to ache and her muscles would grow restless…

Haley didn’t think of it being any different, even when Emily burst through the door with her voice louder than that damn parakeet— or whatever it was that she’d been keeping in her room these past few months.

“We’ve got mail!” Emily called out in a sing-song tone, shutting the door gently when she saw how disgruntled her younger sibling looked.

“... Is it from Mom and Dad?” Haley dropped her face into her pillow, tone muffled when she spoke. 

“Well, no,” Emily practically pranced over to the side of Haley’s bed, sitting on the edge. This girl was definitely a morning person, but never was she so enthusiastic or chipper at these times. “I saw who it was from and I honestly couldn’t help myself.”

“Oh my gosh, I thought I told you to stop going through my letters—“ She stopped herself short when she saw the distinct printing on the back.

Haley was quick to pull the sheet of paper that was folded twice out of the torn envelope. She dug her freshly-manicured fingernails into the paper, recognizing it as a sheet torn from a sketchbook. 

_ Haley, _

_ Meet me on the docks, across the wooden plank, 9 o’clock tonight. _

_ (This is my sorry for totally crashing your picnic in the forest. And, dragging you into the secret little alcove where that slime destroyed your dress… I know you said it was fine but. I still feel bad) _

_ Your favourite party crasher, Abby _

The letter, moreso a note was much shorter than Abigail normally wrote. Haley turned the sheet over in her hands, noticing the back was blank. She looked back to the short note, eyes raking over the words multiple times in what seemed to be milliseconds.

“It’s like you’re trying to burn holes into it,” Emily observed, reaching out to place a finger on the paper. Haley jumped away, reading it over a few more times before she relented and reluctantly showed the blue-haired girl the note. It didn’t matter, anyways, as Emily had already read it. “Look, she drew a heart right next to her name.”

“I can read! I don’t… know what you’re trying to insinuate right now, Emily.” Haley lowered the note that was shielding her eyes.

“Do you think she signs off all of her letters with hearts?” Emily inquired, finger tapping the scrawled heart which was in purple ink. “I have a hunch that she only does it for you.”

Haley dodged that question, feeling her cheeks getting warm. She observed her friend’s penmanship, trying to ignore what her sibling just said. She could tell it was written with a ballpoint pen like usual, although it wasn’t… like it almost always was. There were different levels of pressure upon each letter and her printing looked… shaky? Abigail didn’t have neat handwriting whatsoever, but this was undeniably messier than normal. 

“The way she wrote this, it—“ Haley paused, craning her neck forwards, fingernails digging deeper into the paper, “It’s messy.”

Emily smiled fondly, “And I thought Shane had terrible handwriting…”

“No, look,” She showed Emily the letter again, pointing out multiple quirks within the piece of writing. “Her curves in her letters are shaky, and she’s connected her letters together in almost every word on this page. That’s not— that’s not normal.”

Emily feigned shock, but her expression went from bewilderment to genuine amusement within moments. She slapped her hand down onto her thigh, letting out a laugh that was _ hurting _to escape her chest. 

“Why the hell are you laughing at me?” Haley seemed to hiss, dropping the note into her lap. She seemed offended.

“No, no, I’m sorry,” Emily apologized, despite the fact that she was still choking on her words and snorting with laughter, “I just… wow.”

“What?” There was a blush on Haley’s face, which was from embarrassment.

“She’s _practically_ asking you out, Haley.” Emily deadpanned, wiping the tears from her eyes. She had a grin on her face now, full of mischief.

Haley’s face reddened even more, and she let out an exasperated sigh. She hid her face in her hands, speaking loudly. “She’s not asking me out! Why would she ask me out when she could ask Sebastian, or he could ask her out, or— or… or…” People tended to group the two together, even though they were purely platonic towards each other.

Emily watched the gears turn in the poor girl’s head, Haley’s hands dropping to her lap atop of the letter. 

“... Oh my…” Emily whispered, slowly reaching up and placing a comforting hand upon her younger sibling’s shoulder. “You’re in deep.”

“Shush, just— ugh…” Haley sighed again, “... Em.” 

“Yeah?”

“... She— she wants me to go to the beach tonight. Tonight… _ tonight! _ Fuck, I’m not ready for this, I’m not— What am I going to do?! What are _ we _ going to do?!” Haley decided let loose. Emily had to know by now that she… she had a crush on Abigail.

Haley couldn’t pinpoint an exact moment when she knew that she had a crush on the purple-haired girl, but she knew it was roundabout the first month of the year. From then, she’s befriended Abigail, but it didn’t feel like a stereotypical friendship…

It was because of the elephant in the room; she’s had a crush on Abigail for awhile now.

She remembered all the way back in highschool, when her and Abigail never truly acknowledged each other and stuck to their cliques. Haley found her own eyes wandering off, admiring other girls from afar. She’d always held back those feelings, but one of the people she would look at for _ far _too long was Abigail. 

“Hey, hey. Look at me— Haley! Look at me.” Emily had shifted on the bed, grasping Haley by the shoulders. “Come on. Shake off all of that negative energy… she asked you to go out there, tonight, because she wants to see _ you _. Not some fabricated version that you always try to play off. You can do this.”

Haley inhaled sharply, shrugging herself out of Emily’s grasp. She stood from her bed, walking over to her vanity. She practically slammed her hands down onto the edges, causing it to wobble. She curled her fingers around the cold surface, exhaling slowly.

“Will I have enough time to get ready? I always look perfect but, I have to look extra perfect for this occasion, but I don’t want her to notice that I dressed up a bit more than usual, and—“

“— Haley—“

“—She’s just such a nice girl, you know? If I screw this one up I’ll never live it down and—“

“—Haley.—“

“—I haven’t been on a date since highschool but that was with a boy and I don’t even like men!—“

“—Haley!” Emily’s voice boomed off of the walls, causing Haley’s babbling to cease. She had stood from the bed, pivoting her sister on the spot. “Deep breaths, okay?”

Haley blinked a few times, glancing down at her feet. She realized her hands were trembling out of pure nervousness, her voice that tumbled so effortlessly off of her lips seconds ago now silenced in all of its mishmashed glory. “S-Sorry.” She managed to stutter, letting out a forced chuckle.

“Don’t get yourself worked up. She hasn’t even explicitly stated that it is a date. I mean, there are a lot of implications there but… you really won’t know for sure. Unless of course, you do go.” Emily attempted words of comfort.

Haley blinked incredulously, folding her arms across her chest. Her bottom lip jutted out, “But you just said that she was asking—“

“I wasn’t that serious… okay, maybe a little bit, but I guess you can never know until she downright says it is a date.” Emily’s tone was so nonchalant about it, and that was almost enough to drive Haley mad, madder than she was already. 

Normally, Haley would admire Emily for her laid back attitude. That was different, however, when a time like this called for panicking. Her crush was asking her on a-not-date-but-date? 

Haley sighed out one last time, her back straightening and her chest puffing out. But, her hands still shook incessantly. “Okay, Emily… I’ve come to a decision and,” she drifted past Emily, “I’m going to that goddamn beach whether or not it’ll kill me.”

“Atta girl!” Emily grinned toothily, “... I’ll admit, your gay vivacity is what led me to believe that picnic you two went on together _ was _the first date.”

It took everything in the blonde girl to not chuck her hairbrush at her older sibling.


	2. ii: the confession

If she looked herself over in the mirror once more, she’d surely drive herself crazy.

Haley has been fretting ever since she feasted her eyes upon Abigail’s note. She’s read that over a thousand more times since Emily gave it to her, and received a nice amount of teasing when Emily caught her in the act of gawking over it. 

The more she thought about it, the more she knew this wasn’t just a normal meetup. It wouldn’t be so… cryptic.

Just after that, Emily had to leave for work at the saloon. But even going out of the door, she was rambling on and on about how Haley would be okay and she’d survive the night. The last thing she said was:  _ It’s forecasted to be a cold one tonight, wear a jacket. _

Haley couldn’t find an outfit that went well with any of her autumn jackets. She wasn’t about to dig through her closet for what seemed to be a fourth time for another outfit. She’s never ravaged that small space so quickly… she didn’t even remember buying half of that stuff.

It was five minutes until nine. She stood anxiously in front of the door to her bedroom, fingers clutching her camera close to her chest. She decided to bring it with her, despite the fact that the sun had already set.

Photos at night were among her favourite to take.

Haley clenched her jaw, letting go of her camera which was hung around her neck. Her fingertips grazed the doorknob, and she ungracefully swung it open, cringing when it squeaked on the hinges. She exited her room, smoothing out her clothing before she left the house.

The cold air immediately hit her exposed skin, and the blonde hissed lightly. Maybe the recommendation to wear a sweater was something she should have followed… no. She wasn’t going to go back inside. If she went back in, she wouldn’t be coming back out… nerves be damned.

Haley locked the door behind her. As welcoming as some residents were, and as small as the town was, it was better to be safe than sorry. It wasn’t long ago she overheard Sam talking about a rumour in which Morris was the person to steal 100 bucks out of the farmer’s wallet, when he passed out in the middle of his field one night. She wasn’t someone too quick to judge anymore, but she wouldn’t be surprised if that rumour was the truth.

Haley’s steps were less leisurely than usual. She knew if anyone saw her at this time, they’d be able to tell she was in a hurry. She couldn’t help it. She had wanted to show up at 9 o’clock on the dot, because she didn’t want to seem  _ weird _ for popping up early. But her legs took her faster than her mind could work.

The thrill of not knowing what Abigail wanted from her was keeping her going, oddly. She was excited to talk to her friend alone, especially this late at night, and after all… thinking upon it, Haley could remember few moments of… not so platonic tension between them. Mainly, when they were alone in the Secret Woods.

Haley remembered it so distinctly; Abigail gripping the short tree branch so tightly her knuckles were dissipating into a paler colour than she was, with the blonde gripping her bicep, cowering in fear of the slimes surrounding them. In that moment, Haley really hadn’t been focused on the monsters closing in… Her brain had really been focused on how close she was to the other girl. How… muscular Abigail’s arm was.

She knew Abigail learned her swordsmanship from the farmer. 

After Abigail rid of the slimes, she embraced the other woman. Profuse apologies were strung out hastily, the purple-haired girl cradling Haley’s head close to her chest. Haley wasn’t concerned about her ruined dress anymore, hell no. She hid her face for as long as she could, enjoying the contact and also not wanting her friend to see how flustered she was.

Even though there was nearly no activity within the town at this hour, as everyone was settled down at home or at the saloon, the beach seemed calmer. She could already hear the soothing sounds of the ocean, which quelled her nerves for a moment.

Just for one singular, lonely moment.

As she crossed the creaky, makeshift wooden bridge that lay across the gap in the beach, her heart practically ached to jump out of her ribcage. Haley couldn’t let on to Abigail that she was nervous. If this wasn’t something meant to be anything but platonic, she didn’t want to jeopardize her chances of still keeping the ‘friend’ status with the purple-haired girl.

A silhouette sitting upon the docks came into view. As Haley neared, she did recognize it as Abigail. She forced herself to swallow down her nerves, and an idea popped into her head at that.

To alert Abigail of her presence… she’d take a picture. 

Haley flicked on the power switch, adjusting the flash before squinting down the viewfinder. She snapped a picture, and much to her surprise, Abigail didn’t jump. Instead, she stayed still until she heard the shutter cease.

“I heard you coming up,” Abigail glanced over her shoulder, a smile upon her face… her teeth were white. “Fancy seeing you here!”

Haley let out a short giggle, slowly prowling up to stand beside Abigail, where as the pale girl sat unbothered. She hesitated momentarily, before slowly sitting herself down beside Abigail, their thighs centimetres apart. 

“How was your day today?” Haley glanced towards Abigail, a brow quirked inquisitively. She noticed how… beautiful Abigail’s side-profile was in the faint moonlight.

Abigail had been gazing up at the stars littering the sky, an almost wistful gaze upon her face. She shook it off, finally taking a good look at the blonde now settling beside her. “Well, I spent most of it with Seb and Sam… and fuck, you know how that is. It…”

Haley noticed her trailing off, although she decided not to point it out as of now. “Let me guess, higher than my sister is on her days off?” She was unconcerned exposing Emily as a stoner, as if the whole town didn’t know already.

Abigail chuckled, “Yeah, that wasn’t what I was going to say but, that too. Those two… God, I’ve practically grown up with them all of my life and it’s like they’ve been married the whole journey. Like my dad would say… two peas in a pod.” Her nose crinkled slightly, irked at the fact she quoted Pierre.

Haley scoffed, rolling her eyes for emphasis. “You’ve had  _ both  _ of them gush to you about the other multiple times. How oblivious could someone be?” She nearly humoured herself with that question there.

A gleam came to the surface of Abigail’s eyes momentarily, her brows ever so slightly contorted downwards. She looked forwards before Haley could catch her gaze, “Right…” She responded.

The shorter girl was silent for a moment then, before she spoke up. “... Abby, you never told me why you asked me to come out here. I’m… just curious.”

Abigail hummed in response, “I was thinking it’d be a nice time for you to take pictures of the sunset, but I completely misjudged that as the days are getting shorter now… Winter’s coming, and I fucking hate it. It’s always so cold here…”

Haley beamed, the corners of her eyes wrinkling up. “It’s the thought that counts,” her smile faded quickly, though, “but… I agree. I wish I could move away from this place, you know… start off fresh? Being born and raised in Pelican Town won’t get you started off very well if you wanted a career that wasn’t so… labour-y. It’s like some force is keeping me here, though…”

“At least you’ll know it isn’t the weather,” Abigail snorted humourlessly, shaking her head. She reached up, running her fingers through her hair and blowing a loose strand away. “I know how you feel. My parents, they… felt more than controlling. They still kind of are; I guess they want me to settle down with some easy job here, or even off in the city. Anything that doesn’t involve what I’m interested in now… going on a real adventure, even making a discovery of some species or finding a completely new place… anything that wouldn’t involve possible death.”

Haley scowled, glancing up at her again. There were a few deep scrapes above her right eyebrow, obviously fresh. How had she not noticed before…? “Everytime you come out of the mines I see you with a new injury, so I wouldn’t blame them completely!”

Abigail went to look over at her, but she felt a soft hand rest upon the side of her face. She winced a bit when Haley’s thumb rubbed the skin just under the abrasions. “This one isn’t that bad.” 

Haley realized her action may have been too straightforward, but when she felt Abigail rest into her touch she didn’t pull away. Plus, the warmth was nice… it was taking everything in her not to shiver. “... What happened?”

“Bat snuck up on me, the bastard.” Abigail’s tone was softer than before, “It was nearly a swarm of them, but they aren’t too hard to take care of.”

“Sounds scary,” Haley mumbled, slowly dropping her hand down to her side, “I don’t know how you do it.”

Abigail’s smile was slanted, as she subconsciously shuffled closer to Haley. Haley noticed and felt her face begin to heat up, but thankfully it was too dark to notice. “I don’t want to feel like I’m just wasting away in this town; like you had said earlier, about wanting to leave… but not being able to. I don’t know if I’ll ever move away from these boonies, but if I don’t, I have to make a name for myself somehow… I want people to be proud of me, people other than my parents.”

Would it be too out there to say that a certain someone was proud of her…? Haley didn’t know. Through her nervousness that was beginning to seep to the surface, the words fell out of her mouth, “We’ve been friends for awhile now, and… I’m proud of how far you’ve come. When we were getting to know each other at first, you could barely hold a sword.” 

Abigail’s eyes widened out of shock from that statement, but she quickly kept that calm composure up. “I know, I’ve gotten good… thank you though, seriously. It— it means more than you know.”

Haley tried to give a cohesive response without a stutter, but she was stopped short when the wind began to pick up.. Her muscles tensed as she finally began to shiver from the cold, her hands slowly rubbing her upper arms.

On the other hand, Abigail was unaffected as she made the smart decision to put on a jacket. She frowned, “Are you cold…? You didn’t bring a sweater?”

“No, it um… slipped my mind.” Haley lied, not wanting to admit to the taller girl that she hadn’t wanted to ruin her outfit with one. 

Abigail paused, as if she were thinking for a solution. It was only a few seconds of silence between them before she spoke, “Take my jacket.”

Haley was stunned for multiple reasons. Her crush just offered her jacket… her jacket, which would be warm, and would presumably carry her scent, and not to mention would be a bit too big due to the height difference. But under that, she could see that Abigail wore only a black t-shirt.

“Won’t you get cold? I—“ Haley tried to object, but the purple-haired girl was insistent.

“I’ll be okay. Besides, you’re way smaller than me; I can store my own body heat easier… didn’t you pay attention in biology class?” As she was shedding her jacket, she took to teasing the blonde.

Haley huffed, her brow furrowing. The jacket was placed upon her shoulders, and almost immediately she was enveloped by warmth. She found herself subtly snuggling into the jacket, but that wasn’t the only source of heat… the two were way closer than they had been to start. Thighs touching, nothing more.

Abigail let her feet dangle down, this dock in particular just high enough that she wouldn’t get her shoes wet. It was quiet between them for awhile, neither wanting to break the comforting silence. The waves crashing below them were the only noise, the seagulls usually convoying the skies gone to wherever they nested.

The purple-haired girl took in a deep breath, and Haley craned her neck to look up at her once again. Was that nervousness she sensed from the taller girl? She blinked a few times, slowly shifting towards Abigail and leaning upon her.

“... There’s um,” Another long breath, then a quick exhale, “another reason why I wrote you this morning.”

Haley didn’t move to look at her again, she just responded with a rasp within her tone. “... And what is that?”

Abigail reached over to her side, retrieving something from a small pouch she’d brought. It was like something you’d find jewelry in: rings, specifically. “Here, hold out your hand.”

Haley looked towards Abigail’s closed fist, and she slowly reached her hand out. With her hand hovering just underneath Abigail’s, so close they could feel each other’s body heat. The blonde felt something cool to the touch within her hand, and she slowly pulled back to inspect it.

It was some sort of raw gemstone, slightly polished around the edges. It sparkled slightly in the moonlight, and it had some weight to it. Haley ran her thumb along the ridges, enamoured within the fact Abigail would even think to give her a gift. When she squinted hard enough, she could see it was green.

“It’s a chunk of emerald,” Abigail explained, “I found it not this time, but the time before that when I went into the mines… it— I’ve wanted to give you something I’ve found on one of my little expeditions, you can always find some really cool things down there! I…” She realized she was beginning to ramble, so she stopped herself.

“I love it.” Haley blurted, leaning off of Abigail slightly to look up into her blue eyes, “It’s so pretty! The fact that you even…” 

Abigail’s eyes darted downwards for a moment, before she stared deep into Haley’s. “There’s… one last reason, Haley.” She said, quietly. An anxiousness crept up Abigail’s spine, and finally the blonde saw it clearly.

“What is it?” Haley asked, noticing that they were now much,  _ much  _ closer than they were before. She was blushing something intense, now.

Abigail’s eyes darted down to Haley’s lips again, and she narrowed her eyes slightly. She hesitantly reached, her hand gripping onto Haley’s upper thigh. “You don’t know how badly I want to kiss you right now…”

Haley could have screamed at the top of her lungs in glee, but she wasn’t going to miss this chance. She’d bet someone would pinch her right about now, to lull her out of this dream. Without words, she leaned in.

Abigail leaned in, too. She felt a gentle hand upon her waist, and then another resting upon the nape of her neck. Their lips connected slowly, a tenderness bubbling to the surface. 

It was a slow kiss, neither wanting it to be rushed or end prematurely. Abigail’s free hand slowly reached up, cupping Haley’s cheek. Her thumb soothed the skin along her cheekbone, a deep gentleness showing through that Haley didn’t think Abigail had in her.

It was surprising, but Haley seemed to take the lead within this kiss. She could almost be described as feisty, but whatever it was, Abigail was enjoying it. Haley noticed that Abigail tasted of fresh mint, something she didn’t mind too much.

When they slowly broke away from the kiss, it was like a switch had been flipped and they were both blushing messes.

“Holy shit.” Abigail said afterwards, “Goddamn. I… wow…”

Haley had dropped both of her hands, and they were now rested gently upon Abigail’s thighs. She was the one leaning into the purple-haired girl’s touch now, taking solace within her warmth.

“... You like me, I like you, we have that settled, yeah?” Abigail spoke again, as Haley seemed unable to speak. In response, the blonde vigorously nodded. 

“I, um…” Haley was jittery now, still slightly unable to comprehend what had happened. “I thought it was just a stupid dumb crush as first but now, I… really don’t think that.” She laughed, and that simple laugh was enough to lift Abigail’s spirits.

Abigail smiled fondly, and she couldn’t hold herself back from leaning in and kissing Haley again. It wasn’t nearly as long, but it was softer than the first one. They were laughing into this kiss, now...

“Half of the reason I was at Sebastian’s,” Abigail said, “high off my rocker was because, well… I was trying to articulate how to ask you out today but fuck, I just… I wanted to kiss you so bad. Fuck, I’ve wanted to kiss you for awhile, to put it not so eloquently.”

“... That makes two of us, Abby.” Haley giggled, shifting away a little but only so she could change positions. She was pressed up against Abigail’s side now, arms wrapped around her with her fingers linked at the end.

Abigail took the initiative to rest her arm upon Haley’s shoulders, and the pair were snuggled into each other. The blonde’s shivering was long gone, enough body warmth to last between the both of them.

“You know,” Haley said, tone barely above a whisper, “I think the reason I didn’t want to leave this town, well… was because I was—  _ am  _ crushing on one of the best people I’ve ever met…”

Abigail’s face heated up more than before, and she gently held onto Haley’s upper arm. “... And I guess, that makes the two of us.” She giggled, repeating what the blonde had said moments ago. 

Their gazes followed each other, to look up at the stars, seemingly brighter than before. They were in an even more comfortable silence now, any worries or nervousness dissipated within that kiss. It was so peaceful, more peaceful than the town could have been in the dead of the night.

Haley hadn’t expected her night to go the way it did. She was having quality time with the practical love of her life, she’d kissed her, too… if she could have gone back, slapped herself this morning when she was even doubting that Abigail reciprocated feelings… she definitely would have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am SO LATE HOPPING UPON THIS SHIP TRAIN BUT . better late than never  
hope u enjoyed reading !! (i'm not going to disappear off of the face of the earth, i stg i WILL write more for this pairing)
> 
> -ciara


End file.
